UPDATE – Mom just frantically phoned and informed me that it is not employee of the month but a monthly “Choosing your Attitude” and that there are three people per month chosen for this because of their great attitude. I still like to think of it as employee of the month though!

Well, I need to say how proud I am of my Mother over the last few months and how thankful I am that she is in my life.

She was nominated for employee of the month where she works and this is her month! There are over 1000 people who are employed in her office; this is a huge honor for her!

Each month, whomever is nominated and chosen is given a ceiling tile to paint and is also asked to write something that means something to them. The ceiling tile is framed for one month and placed in a prominent area for all employees to see along with the write-up and a photo of the employee. After the month is up the ceiling tile is placed into the ceiling with the other tiles from employee of the months’ gone by.

These are her words and above is her painting:

Attitude

Someone said to me one time
‘It takes one to know one’
so to the person who nominated me, ‘right back at you’.

What we see in another is a reflection of ourselves.

It’s All About Attitude……..Wow, so true,
and we’re all learners.

I have to get up about two and a half hours before my shift starts in order to
psych myself up to come in here to work.

No, not really,
however, I do like to see day break when the sun comes up AND
I also love to see a beautiful sunset.

It’s not for us to fully understand the whys of all our life’s circumstances,
but for sure I need all of you in my life right now or I would not be here. It’s that simple.

It’s an amazing journey and I love it.
We are all part of this humongous mosaic and it’s really quite extraordinary
so I choose to just enjoy being a part of it. When the time comes to move on and it will,
so be it.

There are frustrating times, but those are challenges for me to overcome somehow,
and from which I can choose to learn and grow.
There are sad times and happy times, each with it’s own blessings,
both of which I continue to appreciate as the years go by.

My encounters with another human being each day are precious moments
and just a tiny glimpse into someone else’s life.
These contacts are given to me. If perhaps someone has a frown one day,
I try to remember to look beyond and deeper,
because I’ve been there too or it could be me in their shoes,
like the song ‘Rainy Day People’ by Gordon Lightfoot.

Like this:

Cat McGandy AKA Aloka became ill last week. We thought she would pull through by the weekend. Last night she took a turn for the worse and passed away earlier today.

My friends gave her to me as High School graduation gift in June of 1991. She was the runt of a litter of kitties from a friend’s family farm. She was so tiny and never grew to more than 7lbs as an adult. But she loved life and everything that went along with being the family cat.

The picture above is her drinking from the Fountain of Youth. We all aptly named that little water fountain as she would only drink water from it so daily it had to be re-filled two sometimes three times. She taught my other cat, Missy, to drink from it to.

Like this:

She says "Do you love me?" as she grabs his curled foot…

Wow I illustrated this 7 years ago! It is also one of the few illustrations that bear my married name as I am divorced now. It is signed with a tiny tiny "JB 2001" down on the bottom right rather than a "JD 2001". How about that?

I created this original using watercolor, colored pencil and technical pens.

The original measures 12" by 12" or 30,4cm by 30,4cm

I have been gearing up to begin illustrating large again by drawing many small miniatures. I hope to carry their personality into much larger compositions such as this one in the near future.

Each *ACEO measures the standard 2.5″ by 3.5″ and was drawn using Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens with La Plume Artist Markers on 80lb card stock. Each has rounded corners and fit perfectly into Hockey or Magic Card sleeves.

Like this:

Have so many things ever been going on in your life that you have not a chance to breath it in and simply exhale it out. It is tantamount to life to breath in and out. It is also necessary to experience, to do, to act upon and create when one is an artist.

That last one gets me in the gut.

I don’t know why some things bring tears to my eyes easily. A word, an act of kindness and even a thank you can bring ’em on unbidden. Maybe it was this past week or two. Or maybe this past year or two. All I know is this; is that the tears are flowing not of sadness but of happiness. And it’s not about money and it’s not about being popular and it’s not about being something I not.

It could be that I feel connected. That I feel worthy? or needed? or loved? It’s an old feeling, one I felt long ago when I was a kid that seemed to ebb away for a while. I am part of something much larger than myself right now. Knowing that out there – in that vastness, that there are other entities not unlike myself who call me friend, or lover or family, sister or daughter and simply artist or emotion creator and writer brings the tears on.

All the wrongs melt away. All the hurt heals. All the abuse disappears. And it’s just me and you. For whatever reason we know each other is ok. I am so lucky to have met you and even more lucky to know you think of me when I am not there as I think of you when you are not here.

If you don’t understand, it is ok. I just want to say thank you and that I love you.